For those of us that live and breathe barbecue, what could be better than a pig a day?

For 2008, it can happen! The “A Pig A Day Calendar - Icons of Barbecue” is now on sale!

The calendar features logos and signs from barbecuers of all types: competition teams, restaurants, caterers, etc. And Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue was selected as one of the teams represented. Not only that, but we’re April 26/27 (a weekend), and April 26th is my anniversary, so it’s a great choice!

The calendars are only $12.99 and can purchased on the website or via Amazon.

Last weekend, my wife and I got the chance to cater a birthday party.  The couple were both turning 40 in the same week, and wanted to do something fun.  We were really glad to have the chance to help them celebrate by letting them not worry about the food or serving.

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A few weeks ago, someone approached me to help vend at an event called "Woodsticks and Strings".  It’s an event that brings together bands from the Dayton/Cincy area and bands from Nashville for 2 days of music.  The event was last weekend, and the intent was to raise money for PanCan, which does pancreatic cancer research.

The event took place at a neighbor’s house.  They have a great pond and a Boathouse that really is great.  Lots of room, and good access. 

Unfortunately, we went under misconceptions.  The guy that contacted me about going was told that 300 ore more people would be there, and we cooked to accommodate that many.  As it turned out, there might have been 100 people there if they were lucky.  We didn’t make a dime, but we still had a great time.   

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I
‘ve cooked for small groups, family and friends before, as well as smoking over 800 lbs of pork in one weekend for a festival, but yesterday saw my first experience doing an office lunch for 30 people.

My customer decided on the number of people, and I presented him with options for the menu.  The items he chose were:

• Brisket - This is just a no brainer… It’s good stuff!
• Turkey - Smoked, but traditional for the holidays.  I brined it in coffee and molasses.
• Tomato Pie - Every time I have this, I remember just how good it is!
• Barbecued Beans - Not too dry, not too wet, some with and some without pulled pork added.
• Veggie Lasagna - Four cheeses, portabellas, spinach and bechamel sauce.  In case anyone is vegetarian (whatever that means… it’s not in vocabulary!)
• Cole Slaw - Simple and simply good!

I also had on hand some Javacue sauce, in case anyone wanted it.  I don’t use sauce on my brisket, but I wanted to be sure they had some good sauce if they wanted it.

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Here I am at the end of October.  This is the month I tell people shows why Ohio is a great place to live… The fall colors are great!  Living in the woods means I get to see a lot of color, and this year is one of the best recent years to do some leaf viewing.

October is also really busy for us.  It’s great weather to be out, so we do a lot.  Every weekend seems to fill up, almost too much.  Luckily, we have a couple of weekends to relax between now and the holidays starting.  It’s also been a tough October for me, with Woody gone.  He always liked the turn in weather, and I just have great memories of spending time with him at this time of the year.  If anyone reading this has a dog, especially a lab, make sure to spoil them a little extra for me this week!

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We just finished with the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival.  I haven’t heard how many people were there, but it was pretty packed, and the weather was PERFECT for a festival!  I got there on Saturday at 7:00 AM, and it was crowded by 8:00. 

We didn’t do as much business as we’d hoped, but we did at least cover our costs and then some.  Mostly, we learned a lot.  For instance, we now know that we can get over 400 lbs of meat on our cooker at one time!  We did most of the cook using nothing but wood, which was also a great learning experience.  Regulating temps with wood is a bit different than with charcoal, I think.

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On Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue will be cooking the most meat we’ve ever done for one event!  The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville, Ohio, is this coming weekend, and it’s the largest festival in the state.

The village has estimated that up to 400,000 people will be there.  That’s a lot of people, especially considering that only about 2500 people live there.  It’s probably the best festival I’ve attended, with vendors selling above average quality merchandise, and the food vendors are all locals raising money for various groups like the Athletic Boosters and Young Life.  There are foods with sauerkraut that you’d never think should have sauerkraut like ice cream and doughnuts, but don’t knock it until you try it!  The doughnuts are GREAT!

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